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Cape Town - A fierce-looking and heavily pregnant ragged tooth shark washed ashore in Port Elizabeth between Hobie and Pollok beaches on Saturday, 13 December, and an expert believe that the massive animal has died due to stress.
According to Dr Malcolm Smale, a marine biologist from Nelson Mandela Bay, the massive 2.9 meter-long shark had to be removed from the beach in front of the popular PE restaurant, Something Good, after several people spotted the dead predator on the rocks.
Smale said the the shark had washed up on the rocks during low tide by the strong winds in PE.
After an autopsy was done, Smale could see that the shark was in an advanced stage of pregnancy, reports Herald Live.
Smale said that is it likely that the shark had been caught by an angler who then released it. Regardless of the shark being released again, Smale believes that it had died afterwards from the stress of being caught, whilst being pregnant as well.
Traveller24 recently reported of how Beachgoers delivered 3 baby sharks from their dead mother. It is a pity the same couldn't have been done for this ragged tooth mother-to-be.
Although tragic, Smale said on average at least one ragged tooth shark washed ashore every year in the bay.
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